


I'm teasing you because I like you

by iamnotthemafia



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, M/M, predebut until today
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-02 07:32:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18806581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamnotthemafia/pseuds/iamnotthemafia
Summary: From the moment they first met at SM to the present day, this story will follow Markhyuck's journey from enemies to friends and finally more?This will be based on real events HOWEVER it's purely fictional. Enjoy!/DISCONTINUED





	1. First Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! This fic was inspired by the video of markhyuck holding hands during one of their performances and me then going on a long rant about how they are the embodiment of "enemies to friends".
> 
> I hope you'll like it! Feel free to leave critique or requests ^-^
> 
> To make things a little easier NCT are the only male trainees in this story, I may mention some female trainees because of the MMC episodes.

Donghyuck still remembers the first time he met Mark. It was 2013 and he had just been accepted into SM. He had to leave his home, Jeju Island, to pursue his dreams. A tough choice for a twelve year old boy.

But here he was at the airport with his mom, waiting for a SM representative to pick them up. He remembers every detail of the drive to the famous SM building, even the rhythm in which the light rain fell against the window. Half excited, half scared he had entered, trailing behind a man who turned out to be his manager. His own manager.. crazy. The adults had a last chat about the contract before finally signing.  _That's it_ , Donghyuck thought. There was no going back. 

The Manager smiled at him. "I will introduce you to the other boys after you said bye to your mom." Donghyuck nodded his head and the man left the room, waiting in front of the door. Donghyuck's mom tugged him into a tight hug and caressed his hair. He quickly wrapped his small arms around her waist, burying his face in her shoulder. "Stay save, Donghyuck." She said and the boy got teary eyed. "If anything happens, it just takes one call and I will immediately coma and get you okay? Your happiness and health are important so eat and drink a lot, don't stay up playing video games all night and dress warm, okay?" She hugged him even tighter. "I love you." Donghyuck mumbled. "I love you too." They stood like this for a little longer until they finally had to let go of each other.

It felt unreal, like Donghyuck would suddenly open his eyes and sit in his bed at home. But nothing like that happened. Instead he followed his new manager through a few hallways. "There are currently seven male trainees, now that you've joined there are eight. You will be living and training together. I will also be living with you, however also have other tasks in this company, so we won't spend too much time together." They came to halt in front of one of the many identical looking doors. Laughter could be heard from inside and Donghyuck got even more nervous. He took one deep breath and watched the door open, revealing a dance studio. A pop song was quietly playing from the speakers and a few boys sat in a circle on the other end of the room. None of them seemed to notice their presence at first. Only when they were standing only a few feet in front of them they looked up. their eyes landed on Donghyuck and looked at him curiously. The boy gulped. 

"This is Donghyuck, the new trainee I told you about." The manager introduced him and motioned him to greet the group.  _Come on, Donghyuck, you're confident._ "Uhm hi, my name is Lee Donghyuck. I'm 12 years old and I live- lived on Jeju Island." His voice was a little shaky, but he hoped it wasn't too obvious. The other boys at least didn't seemed to mind as they smiled at him. "Okay, get to know each other. I'll be back later." And to Donghyuck's horror the manager just left the room, leaving him alone with those complete strangers.

"Come sit down with us" The tallest boy said to him, so he nodded and did as told. "I'm Johnny from America." The boy continued. His smile was warm and honest and Donghyuck started to calm down a little. "I'm Jaehyun!" A boy with dimples said and the younger returned his contagious smile. "I'm Mark" A smaller boy said. He had big eyes and didn't look much older than Donghyuck. "I'm from Canada" He smiled and Donghyuck noticed his pronounced cheekbones. He didn't have more time to observe Mark as the next boy had started to introduce himself. "I'm Taeyong" He said and Donghyuck's eyes widened a little. The boy looked unreal, like he emerged straight from a drawing. His eyes were fierce, but his smile was softening his intimidating features. "And I am Yuta" The last boy said. He had a slight accent Donghyuck noticed. "I'm from Japan" Yuta continued, confirming his thoughts.

"There is another trainee, Doyoung, but he is currently getting some snacks for us" Johnny explained to him. Donghyuck nodded. "It's nice to meet you all."

"No need to be so formal" Johnny laughed. "You said you are 12? When were you born?" Dimpleboy  _(Jaehyun?_ ) asked. "Yes, I was born in 2000." He answered. "Ah then you are the youngest!" Jaehyun smiled and points to Mark. "Mark was born in 1999 and was our maknae until now" Donghyuck and Mark made eye contact and smiled awkwardly before looking away.

"You will be living with all of us in a dorm, near this building. After school we come directly to the company. We can leave after our schedules but most of us stay longer." Donghyuck listens closely to Jaehyun, not wanting to miss any important information. "The manager will tell you your schedule later."

"All of you owe me one!" He suddenly heard a slightly annoyed voice from behind. The boy turns around and spots another trainee, older than him and his arms full with snacks.  _That must be that Doyoung boy_ ,he thought to himself. Said boy had reached them and let the bags of chips and other food fall in the middle of the circle. He sat down next to Donghyuck, obviously not aware of the new addition.

While the other boys already started digging in, Johnny leaned forward a little, catching Doyoung's eyes. "Doyoung, meet our new maknae, Donghyuck." He gestured towards the new boy. Doyoung turned towards him with a surprised look on his face. The older boy mustered Donghyuck. His eyes had a unique form and his look was piercing, the rest of his face however looked rather cute. After a second Doyoung extended his hand with the words "Nice to meet you, I'm Doyoung. If you need anything let me know." Hoping his hands weren't sweaty, Donghyuck shook the other boys hand.

Doyoung then turned to the eating trainees. "Did you tell him all the necessary information?" While most of them just ignored him, Jaehyun opened his mouth. "We were in fe middle of if, buf ffen you came fack" He had his mouth full of food. Doyoung looked at him disgusted and then sighed. "Okay then." He turned back towards Donghyuck. "How old are you?" 

"I was born in 2000, so uhm 12" The younger quickly answered. "Okay then," Doyoung nodded. "You will be attending SOPA like most of us, Johnny just graduated." He pointed towards the tall boy who was laughing at something Mark had said. "The school is similar to normal schools but will focus on performing as you probably know. Since you are younger than us, you won't be in any classes with us, but I'm sure you will find new friends soon." Donghyuck nodded to show that he was listening.

"After classes ended you will come back to the company. Our manager will give you your schedule. You will have all kinds of lessons. Singing, rapping, dancing etc. Afterwards you can either choose to stay and work on some things or go home to our dorm. We all live there. It's small but you will only sleep there anyways. Is there anything else?" Doyoung asked and thought for a moment. "Ah" He exclaimed."Since you are still pretty young you won't be allowed to go back to our dorms at night alone. You should always leave with one of us. Mark is also not allowed to leave on his own, but you two can go together as far as I know. I will ask the manager later. Don't worry you'll get used to all of this" Doyoung sent him a reassuring smile.

Donghyuck didn't quite know what to feel. Everything was new and kind of overwhelming. The other boys seemed to be nice at least. He looked around, observing each of the boys. Doyoung had begun to eat what was left. He chewed in a funny way, making him look a little like a bunny. Donghyuck smiled to himself. Mark and Johnny were still chatting with each other, occasionally throwing in english words that Donghyuck didn't understand. Mark was talking while flinging his hands around and laughing a little too much. He looked younger than him, Donghyuck thought. Johnny's eyes were radiating a warm aura, almost like he was Mark's older brother. next to them were Taeyong and Jaehyun talking about some manhwa Jaehyun was reading. As Taeyong felt someone staring at him he looked up. Their eyes met and the older boy smiled while pushing over one of the bags. "Here, you can eat too." Donghyuck thanked him and took a bite. The chips were sweet and salty. Donghyuck had eaten them many times, so in a way they made him feel more secure in this wave of new impressions. He looked at the last boy, Yuta. He also noticed his gaze and took it as an invitation to spark a conversation.

"Where did you say you're from?" The younger quite liked his slight accent. "I'm from Jeju Island" he answered and watched Yuta's eyes light up. "Oh I always wanted to go there! I watched some videos about it. It's a popular vacation spot and everyone seems to love it. I've been to many spots around Seoul, but I kind of want to see more of Korea." Donghyuck at his enthusiasm and started talking a little bit about the island he knew so well.

They were interrupted however by Taeyong clearing his throat. "Break is over" Yuta sighed and got up. Donghyuck followed and helped Taeyong clean up their mess. "Thank you" The older boy smiled. "We were rehearsing some basic dance moves we were taught yesterday. You can just try to follow along as best as you can. Since it's your first day there are no expectations for you." With that Taeyong joined Johnny in the front row. Donghyuck went to a spot in the back, making sure he was able to see well.  _Let's go!_

 

Donghyuck was very thankful for his ability to pick up dance moves quickly. It has been two hours and the sun must have been setting outside already. However there were no windows so it was hard to say. Sweat started to drip down his body and the other boys didn't seem much better either. Taeyong and Johnny had finally agreed that they needed a break and he was about to sit down on the floor when the door opened once again and their manager entered. "Hey boys, since it's Donghyuck's first day you can go home earlier. I'll drive some of you guys since we need to get Donghyuck's bags to your dorm." The boys started cheering. Since there wasn't enough room for all of them they started playing rock paper scissor. Donghyuck watched them amused until he felt someone tapping his shoulder. He turned around and was greeted by a shy smile. "Hey, I don't know if you remember but I'm Mark." Donghyuck nodded. "Yeah I remember" The other boy held up a bottle of water. Grateful Donghyuck took it and downed half of it on the spot. "You will get used to the training soon. When I first started it seemed so difficult and tiring, but now I really love it!" He laughed, which he did a lot Donghyuck noticed.

"Donghyuck, let's go!" The manager called him so he quickly walked to him and the other boys who were ready to leave. "Mark" Johnny called the boy who was taking his time getting his bag. "I'm coming, I'm coming" They all entered the elevator. A few of them got out on the first floor while the manager, Jaehyun, Taeyong, Doyoung and Donghyuck got out in the basement, walking to the underground parking slots. They opened the doors of the big car and Donghyuck spotted his luggage in the trunk.

"I'm sitting in the front." Doyoung said, already climbing inside. Taeyong opened the other door and held it open for Donghyuck. He thanked him and hurried to get inside. Taeyong and Jaehyun followed and as soon as they were all seated the drove of. The radio was quietly playing some american pop songs and Taeyong and Jaehyun whispered before closing their eyes and resting. Donghyuck looked out of the window. There were a lot of cars driving by and the sky was dark, no stars in sight. Everything here was big and crowded, he would definitely have to get used to this.

The drive was short and so he soon found himself entering his new home. He stepped into a small living room. The room was almost empty. There was a TV, a sofa, a small table and some clothes drying in the back. The other boys all separated as they either went to their rooms or what seemed to be the kitchen. "Follow me" The manager said and they went to one of the closed doors. 

They entered a small room with two bunkbeds and a lot of clothing rags. "You will be sharing this room with Johnny, Yuta and Mark." In that moment the three trainees entered the room that was starting to get really crowded. "I'll leave you alone now, if anything happens I'm in my room." With that he left, leaving four boys and two big bags standing in the middle of the room.

"Okay so this bed is still empty" Johnny pointed to one of the lower beds. "And regarding your clothes, you'll just have to look for some empty spots." He must have noticed the slight panic in the new boys eyes as he let his gaze wander over the filled clothing rags. "Don't worry we'll help you." Johnny added laughing. The three boys started moving around their clothes, slowly creating some room for Donghyuck's stuff. About ten minutes and a some chaos later, he was able to start unpacking. Mark went to take a shower and Johnny left, saying something about being hungry. 

Yuta sat down on the other lower bed, probably his, and watched the younger unpack before starting to speak. "There are two bathrooms, our room uses the one next to the kitchen, you can just put your stuff there. If you want to shower before school you need to get up pretty early. In the evening we all take turns, there's no set order." Donghyuck nodded. "When do you usually get home?" He asked. "Depends. The ones who have to attend school the next day are usually supposed to go home around 9 to 10pm, but some decide to stay longer. Sometimes we also leave early if we're very tired. Doyoung on one hand likes to go home early and Mark on the other hand often stays very long." 

Donghyuck had just finished unpacking when Mark entered with wet hair and loose fitted clothes on. "You can go next" Yuta said to Donghyuck. The latter grabbed his stuff for the bathroom as well as some comfortable clothes and went to the door next to the kitchen. He heard some chatting coming from the kitchen and quickly slipped into the bathroom. He exhaled slowly taking in the quietness around him. This was the first time he had been alone ever since arriving. He needed this alone time to sort out his thoughts.

Letting the water warm run over his body, he replayed today's events in his head. He thought about saying goodbye to his mom, his nice manager and meeting the other trainees. He remembered the dance practice and how this would become his daily life now. He thought about the fact that he would enter his new school tomorrow. He was nervous about meeting new people and hoped to find friends soon. However he knew that here there were seven boys waiting for him and he smiled to himself. This dorm was now his new home.

Donghyuck entered their room and found all three of them on their phones. Johnny jumped up from his upper bed. "I'll go take a shower" Donghyuck placed his dirty clothes in the designated bin and let himself fall on his bed, right under Mark's bed. He already felt sleepy, but decided to text his mom about everything that had happened today. He quietly heard music that was coming from Mark's headphones. 

It didn't take long for Johnny to return to their room. Yuta left immediately. "I'll turn off the light alright?" Johnny asked and both Mark and Donghyuck hummed in agreement. It went dark and exhaustment washed over the boys. Donghyuck yawned and said goodbye to his mom, putting down his phone. He rolled on his side and before he even realised he had fallen asleep.


	2. A new life

The sound of his alarm ringing pierced through Donghyuck's mind. Annoyed he felt for his phone. Just when he had turned off that annoying sound his bed started to shake as Mark made his way down from his upper bed. The boy turned on the lights. Slowly Donghyuck took in his surroundings. Right, he was in Seoul. He sat up and saw Mark struggling to get into his school uniform. With his shirt only halfway buttoned he pointed on a bundle next to their bed. "That's yours." The younger eyed the clothes suspiciously. The bright yellow jacket was probably not everyone's favourite item of clothing but he looked good in yellow so he didn't mind.

Still sleepy he got up, immediately feeling his sore muscles from yesterdays dance practice. His body would surely take a while to get used to that much working out. He was starting to undress as Yuta entered the room, hair still a little wet from the shower. "Good morning!" He beamed also wearing his uniform. "Good morning.." The boys answered less enthusiastic and Johnny who was still in bed groaned. "Shut up, I'm trying to sleep." Yuta however seemed rather unfazed by it as he started talking to Donghyuck, encouraging him on his first day of school. The latter silently nodded as he got dressed, still shy in front of strangers. But the others didn't really seem to care, already used to changing in front of each other.

A trip to the bathroom and a small breakfast later, he sat in the car with the Manager and a few of the other boys. The rest had to use public transportation as they usually did. However the manager had to help the new boy on his first day. The drive to the school as well as the short meeting with the headmaster went by in a blur. Earlier than expected Donghyuck found himself in front of his new class room. The staff that had brought him here, opened the door and gestured him to enter.

The room was well lit and filled with about 20 students who all turned their heads towards the newcomer. The teacher, a man in his forties smiled at him. "Ah yes, the new student. Please introduce yourself to the class." Donghyuck walked to a spot in front of the class, hearing the door being shut behind him. Nervous he cleared his throat. "Hello, my name is Lee Donghyuck and I'm from Jeju Island." He bowed slightly. "Welcome, Donghyuck. I'm Mr. Kim. You can go sit there." The teacher pointed towards a seat in the back. With quick steps the boy made his way to his seat. The other students eyes followed him until Mr. Kim cleared his throat and continued the literature lesson.

 

The day went buy uneventfully. He met a few nice people, but no one was particularly interesting. But he could see himself attending school every day here, which lifted a massive burden off his shoulders. 

It was now 4 pm and time for him to go to the company. Together with his classmates he left the building. He was supposed to meet the other boys at the front gate. As he got closer he spotted a familiar boy, already waiting. Mark too seemed to have spotted him and started waving at him, jumping up and down slightly. Donghyuck in return started running and soon stood in front of the older boy. "Hi" he said and smiled. "Hi! How was your first day?" Mark said, returning a shy smile. "Good, nothing special happened." The younger answered. "Good, that's good." Mark nodded. 

They stood in awkward silence for a while."So uhm" Mark started saying. "Who is your homeroom teacher?" 

"Mr. Kim" Donghyuck answered. Mark looked a little lost but it took Donghyuck a few seconds to realise how many Mr. Kim's there must be teaching at this school as it was a very common surname. He started laughing. "He's tall, is wearing glasses and needs new shoes." He tried his best to describe his teacher. Mark bursted into laughter. "New- new shoes." He said while laughing and the younger boy grinned. "Yeah, his shoes are so worn out, they look like they've been passed down for generations!" Mark started laughing even harder. "I know exactly who you mean!" They laughed together until the other boys finally joined them. "Seems like you two became friends already!" Jaehyun smiled and they started walking. "Yes" Mark answered and looked at Donghyuck with his big eyes. The younger couldn't hold back his happy smile.

 

Against Donghyuck's expectations they didn't start practicing as soon as they arrived at the company. Instead they walked into a room with its walls covered in bookshelves. "Welcome to the study room" Yuta said with a grandiose gesture. The youngest chuckled and let himself fall on one of the wooden chairs. He got out his homework as did the other boys. "Homework on your first day? That's tough." Jaehyun said, pitying him. "Well school is school." He answered. "That's deep, man." Yuta snickered. After that they went quiet, focusing on their homework. 

A while later their manager entered with a piece of paper in his hand. He put the paper down in front of Donghyuck. "This is your schedule for now. The members can help you find the rooms until you know the way yourself." The boy studied his schedule a little closer. Today was Thursday which meant he had a vocal lesson scheduled in the afternoon. He looked up to his manager and asked "Does it start today?" The man nodded in response and checked his watch. "You first lesson will begin in 15 minutes. Can one of you accompany him?" Mark raised his arm. "I think we've got that lesson together" He smiled at the new boy who sighed in relief. It was nice to know he wouldn't be alone on his first real day. "Okay, good luck today." Their manager patted Donghyuck's shoulder before leaving.

"We should leave in ten minutes" Mark said and so they did. They went to a small room on the 4th floor. A window revealed a nice view all the way to the river. There was a lot of recording equipment and a small sofa. Only seconds after the two boys had entered, a small man with glasses walked in, a fresh cup of coffee in his hand. "Ah, you must be Lee Donghyuck! I'm Oh Jaeho!" He said and greeted the boy with a handshake. He seemed giddy and friendly. Donghyuck immediately liked him.

"Since you are both young and still new to singing lessons I thought it would be more enjoyable for you two to train together, at least for now!" He sat down his coffee. "Okay let's start with some easy exercises to see your current abilities!" Donghyuck's nervousness was almost completely gone, the excited aura of the teacher was too infectious. 

The 90 minutes past by quickly, almost too quickly for Donghyuck who was having a lot of fun. Mark also seemed to be enjoying himself, being his usual giggly self. They left the room with smiles on their faces. "Do you have any other schedules today?" Mark asked. The younger shook his head. "No, that's it for today" The other boy grinned. "Okay, great, same for me! That means we can go to the dance studio!"

When they arrived, they could hear music blasting from the speakers. The entered and flung their bags into a corner. now that they were in the room Donghyuck recognised the song to be EXO's song History. He immediately hummed along, trying to follow along the dance moves with his arms. "Oh, do you know this dance?" Mark asked surprised, yelling a little to be heard over the loud music. "Just a little bit!" He yelled back. "Then you should try and dance with us!" Mark yelled, but the music had been turned off in just that moment, causing everyone to look at them. Donghyuck got a little red out of embarrassment. 

"Do you want to join us?" Johnny asked, waving him over. "Uhm-" The boy stuttered, but Mark sent him a reassuring smile. So he nodded. "But I don't know all the moves yet." The younger explained. "Don't worry we can go through them again!" Johnny smiled and the others nodded. So Donghyuck and Mark walked over to them and watched Johnny demonstrate the moves.


	3. Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is going to have some up and downs, but I hope a little angst is okay ^^ the fluff will be extra soft in return hehe

Two weeks have past by ever since Donghyuck's first day. He had spent everyday at the company. He had singing and rapping lessons together with Mark and dancing lessons with all of them together. He began to feel comfortable around the other boys and slowly started to show his real self. "You're getting naughtier every day!" Johnny once had said in a joking manner, but Donghyuck knew that he could be quite annoying sometimes.

He especially liked teasing Mark. "Mark, my rapping is already better than yours and I only joined two weeks ago" The older boy went red and Donghyuck ran away laughing. He later found out that Mark had started practicing an hour more every day. How could you not tease someone who had such funny reactions?

"Mark. Mark. Mark. Mark." It was Friday and they had just returned from school. Mark and Donghyuck were sitting in the study room, but the younger was bored to death. "Oh my God what?" Mark said slightly annoyed, but his voice wasn't made to sound harsh, ever. "Can't we do something fun today?" Donghyuck pleaded. "We have dance lessons and then free training time." Mark answered and Donghyuck let his head fall on the table. "Also I wanted to stay longer" The older added. "Come on, let's go home early and play video games for once.It's Friday" Donghyuck said, looking up from his position on the table. He could clearly see how torn Mark was, hopeful he sat up again. "Please?" But to his disappointment the boy shook his head. "Whyyy?" The younger whined. "I really need to work on my rapping." Mark explained.  "Is it because of what I said? I take it back, you are the greatest rapper of all time! Please come and play with me!" Sadly Mark didn't seem to believe him. Well he didn't exactly sound convincing, he had to admit. "No can do, but you are welcome to join me." The younger pouted, returning to his homework. "I hate you" He mumbled under his breath, earning a giggle from Mark.

A few hours later an he really found himself sitting across Mark, rehearsing some rapping exercises they had learned the previous week. "No, Mark, you need to breath in one beat later" The older furrowed his brows and tried it again. It was adorable to see him try so hard, always thriving for perfection. Which was the reason Donghyuck had accepted the offer to train with him in the first place. However it has been over an hour and he really wanted to go home, it was almost 11pm after all. 

He got out his phone and texted the group chat.

 

 **Donghyuck** :  _Is one of you still in the company?_

 **Johnny** :  _Nope_

 **Taeyong** : _Jaehyun, Yuta and I just left_

 **Doyoung** :  _I'm also home_

 **Doyoung** :  _Why?_

 

 

The boy sighed, earning a curious look from Mark.

 

 **Donghyuck** :  _Because I wanna go home but Mark keeps practicing_

 **Donghyuck** :  _And we're not allowed to leave alone_

 **Donghyuck** :  _Which means now I have to wait_

 **Doyoung** :  _Lmao_

 **Yuta** :  _Tough luck, kid_

 **Taeyong** :  _Just ask him if you can leave soon :)_

 

Donghyuck put down his phone. "The others are home already, can we please leave soon?" Mark looked up from his notebook. "Just a little bit longer?" He asked and went back to writing down whatever he was writing. "You owe me one." The younger said reluctantly. _Well if I'm going to stay longer, I might as well practice too._  

To Donghyuck's misfortune this wasn't a one time thing. Mark stayed at the company until late at night every day and somehow Donghyuck ended up staying with him almost every time. Why did he have to suffer like this??  ~~It was because he wanted to spend time with the other boy, but he wouldn't admit that~~. So in return he annoyed the older boy until he finally agreed to go home. This is what their daily life had become and Donghyuck actually didn't mind it that much. 

Until one day -or actually night- the two were once again in the practice room, alone going over the dance moves they were taught today. The past hour or so the younger had watched Mark dance, helping him from time. But he was getting bored and tired. How could anyone be so hardworking? Donghyuck had always considered himself pretty hardworking but he was nothing compared to Mark. "Donghyuck" He looked up surprised. "This move just doesn't look right when I do it" The younger sighed and walked over. Mark's clothes were almost dripping with sweat and Donghyuck would probably have been disgusted if it wasn't Mark. "Okay, do the move again." He said and observed him closely. "Your timing is wrong. See here you have to be quick and then here you have to slow down again." He explained while showing him what he meant. Mark tried to copy him and it really looked a lot better already.

"Can we go home now?" Donghyuck asked. But of course Mark shook his head. "I still need to practice this!" 

"Oh, come on Mark! We stay late every day! I need my beauty sleep! I don't sleep enough, my skin is breaking out and it's quite frankly just extremely boring to sit around in this goddamn practice room for HOURS!" Tired he rested his hands on his hip.

"No  ** _I_** stay long everyday! I don't know why you are always here!" Donghyuck blanked for a second. He didn't  ~~want to admit~~ know why he always stayed with him. "I- Someone has to stay with you! If it's not me, one of the others would have-" But he didn't get to finish his sentence.

"NOT EVERYONE IS AS TALENTED AS YOU ARE! I'M TRYING BUT I NEED TEN TIMES THE PRACTICE THAT YOU NEED!" Donghyuck had never heard Mark scream. Not even when Johnny broke his headphones.  _I don't deserve this, I've been staying with him every day._

"WE ALL NEED TO PRACTICE BUT YOU ARE JUST DOING TOO MUCH!"

"TOO MUCH? THEN TELL ME WHY I'M STILL BEING LECTURED, WHY I STILL NEED TO ASK _YOU_ FOR HELP!"

"WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?? IS IT REALLY THAT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT I'M BETTER AT SOMETHING THAN YOU??"

"No-"

"YOU KNOW WHAT MARK LEE? YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE STRUGGLING HERE, WE ALL WORK OUR BUTTS OFF FOR THIS!! AND YET I'VE BEEN STAYING LONGER EVERY DAY FOR YOU!"

"SEE THAT'S EXACTLY IT!!  _YOU_ HAVE A CHOICE! YOU ARE STAYING FOR ME! I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER OPTIONS IF I DON'T WANT TO FALL BEHIND!!"

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? AM I SUPPOSED TO BE SORRY?? OH I'M SO SORRY FOR BEING BETTER AT SOMETHING! OH I'M SO SORRY FOR STAYING LONGER TO HELP YOU!" Donghyuck's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"OH COME ON, DONGHYUCK! DON'T ACT AS IF YOU WERE MY HELPING ANGEL! YOU ARE JUST STAYING BEHIND BECAUSE SOMEONE HAS TO!! YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT MY PROGRESS!"

"Or me" Mark added almost whispering.

The two boy were facing each other, some stray tears running down their cheeks. They had their fists clenched and no one moved for a few seconds. Mark seemed to be waiting for a response, but Donghyuck just couldn't bring himself to talk. His mind was a mess.  _Of course I care for him! I need to tell him! But I care for him too much. He can never know! How could he misinterpret my actions so much? I just wanted to be close to him! Maybe.. Maybe he doesn't want to be close to me._ His heart hurt, he never wanted this to happen.

"Okay" Mark's quiet statement pulled Donghyuck out of his thoughts. Confused he watched as the older picked up his things and stuffed them into his bag. Without looking back Mark left the room, leaving the door open. Only now Donghyuck realised what Mark had meant with "okay", the end of their friendship.

Quietly crying he collected his stuff and followed the older boy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyone please stream superhuman!! our boys worked extra hard! let's return the effort!


End file.
